Shooting a replica pistol from the Dick Turpin era – the early 18th century.
This afternoon was the first time this demonstration was done live in front of visitors and luckily it worked first time (the gun is not that reliable).
No stagecoach customers were harmed – the pistol was loaded with real gunpowder but fired only balls of tissue. Turpin would have used lead shot.
The demos are part of the Summer Fun Events programme at the Castle Museum.
York is busy right now. Hundreds of thousands of visitors come to the city and August is a very popular time to make the pilgrimage. And pilgrimage is a good word for it, ever since early medieval days people have travelled to the city from far and wide.These ‘tourists’ as they are now called have always been an important part of the city’s economy.
What is surprising though, is just how many of our visitors come from the UK rather than overseas. Even before the recession introduced us to the ’staycation’ (Brits holidaying at home), 80% of York’s visitors were British.The new Prison exhibition at the Castle Museum is proving popular too, but not quite as popular as when the museum first opened….